Bomb, Book & Compass: Joseph Needham & the Great Secrets of China

  Li Xinheng 126

  Li Yue-se (Joseph Needham’s Chinese name) 41, 43, 245, 127n.26

  Lizhuang, China 94–5

  Long March 102

  Lop Desert 134

  Loushan, China 89, 94

  Low, David 33

  Luce, henry 50

  Luding Bridge, Dadu River, Sichuan Province 192

  Lu Gwei-djen (scientist, second wife of Joseph Needham) 36–41, 120, 170, 183–4

  ‘concert of concubinage’ with Dorothy Needham 249

  contribution to Science and Civilisation in China 200, 202

  correspondence with Joseph Needham 10, 65, 145, 164, 227–8

  declining health and death (1991) 255–8

  estate disposition after death of 257–8

  family and education of 36–8

  first meeting and mutual attraction with Joseph Needham 6–7, 39–40

  marriage to Joseph Needham (1989) 255–7

  personal library 252–4

  photos of 37, 256

  L. Picken complaint about Joseph Needham’s relationship with 166–8

  relationship with Joseph Needham 6–7, 39–41, 52–62, 58–60, 163–8, 236, 248–9

  visit to Chongqing (1982) 267

  work and career 53, 226, 230

  Luo family, Chengdu 87–8

  Luoyang, China 135

  Luo Zhongshu 53

  Lu Shih-kuo (father of Lu Gwei-djen) 257

  Macartney, Lord, British emissary to China (1792) 189, 269

  McCarthy, Joe, US senator 217, 219

  MacDonald, Ramsay 176

  Machina Carnis (D. Needham) 254–5 25n.3

  McLauin, Campbell 35

  MacLehose, Murray 155–7

  Ma Jun (Chinese engineer) 194

  Malenkov, Georgy 221

  Manchester Guardian 232

  Mao Zedong (Chinese Communist leader) 43, 61, 82, 98, 99, 147, 148, 169, 23n.2, 182n.35

  establishment of People’s Republic and 231, 234

  interaction with Joseph Needham about car and bicycle transportation in China 245–7

  Patriotic Hygiene Campaign and 208, 210

  photo with Zhou Enlai and Joseph Needham 216

  policies of 235, 243–7

  Martin, Kingsley 33

  Mass Observation 34

  mathematics, Chinese 71–2

  Mead, Margaret 65

  migrant workers 265

  Milne, A. A. 33

  Ming dynasty 130, 132, 195 183n.36

  Ministry of Culture, China 181

  Min River

  in Fujian Province 154

  Qing-era irrigation project on 110–13

  in Sichuan Province 89, 92–3, 93

  Mogao cliffs and caves 105, 1345, 136, 137, 139

  Moonella Group 23

  morris dancing, Joseph Needham’s interest in 32–3, 120

  Moyle, Dorothy Mary see Needham, Dorothy Moyle ‘Dophi’

  Murray, James 238

  Muslims in China 123

  Nanjing, China 49–50, 54

  Nankai University 54

  Nan Shan (Richthofen Range) 130

  National Council for Civil Liberties 33–4

  Nationalist government, China 81–2, 100, 182n.35 see also Chiang Kai-shek (Nationalist Chinese leader) in Taiwan 233

  Nature 244

  Needham, Alicia Adelaide Montgomery (mother of Joseph Needham) 13

  Needham, Arthur (uncle of Joseph Needham) 22

  Needham, Dorothy Moyle ‘Dophi’ ‘Li Dafei’ (scientist, first wife of Joseph Needham) 25–9, 128

  academic achievements of 30n.4

  acceptance of Lu Gwei-djen by 6–7, 40–41, 46, 52, 165, 184, 248–9

  book Machina Carnis 254–5, 25n.3 ‘concert of the concubinage’ with Lu Gwei-djen 249

  death of (1987) 254

  family and education of 25

  marriage to Joseph Needham (1924) 25–9

  photo 28

  trip to France with Joseph Needham (1954) 225–8

  visits to China made by 160, 163, 169

  work and career of 25

  Needham, Joseph (father of Joseph Needham) 12–13, 15

  Needham, Noël Joseph Terrence Montgomery ‘Joseph’

  as advocate for China 50–52, 53, 98–100, 233–6, 243–7

  awards and honours for 30, 204–5, 247–50, 259–60, 261

  begins study of Chinese language and culture 40–48

  begins to question Mao’s policies in China 243–7

  books and scholarly work by 9–10, 29–30, 52–3, 186, 218n.45 see also Science and Civilisation in China (SCC)

  at Cambridge University, diminished status of (1950s) 228–32

  at Cambridge University, restored status of (1960s and after) 237–41

  at Cambridge University, as professor 27–9, 173–80

  at Cambridge University, as student 4, 19–29

  car ownership 33, 245n.53

  childhood 13–17

  Chinese names of 41, 43, 245, 127n.26

  clothing of 71, 73

  correspondence with Lu Gwei-djen 10, 65, 145, 164, 227–8

  damage to reputation of, over biological warfare report 222–3

  declining health and death of 250–52, 259–62

  diplomatic mission to China see Needham, Joseph, his British diplomatic mission to China (1942–46)

  dreams of 127–9

  early education 17

  eccentricities of 153

  elected president of Caius College fellows (1959) 238–40

  excerpts from letters and diary by 65, 68, 78, 83, 856, 89, 91, 95, 102–3, 110–11, 114, 114–15, 123, 151, 158–9, 159–60, 160, 190, 242

  fascination with China 7, 48, 164, 233

  hookah owned by 241n.52

  interest in morris dancing 32–3, 120–21

  interest in nudism 23–4

  interest in trains and boats 17–18, 154

  letters and papers related to biological warfare investigations 212n.44

  loneliness after death of Lu Gwei-djen 258–9

  marriage to Lu Gwei-djen 255–7

  marriage to Dorothy Moyle 25–9, 28

  motor vehicles belonging to 23, 33, 245n.53

  oil portrait of 249, 251

  others’ opinions of 34

  parents 12–13

  personal book and manuscript collection on Chinese culture and science 157, 181–3, 201–2, 252–4, 258

  photos of 14, 45, 73, 186, 216, 244

  L. Picken complaint about relationship between Lu Gwei-djen and 166–8

  poetry of 21

  relationship with Lu Gwei-djen 39–41, 58–60, 163–8

  relationship with women 25, 27, 856, 90, 150–51, 248–9

  religious views of 15, 20, 24–5, 30–31, 242

  retirement of 250

  return trips to China (1964, 1972) 243–7

  role in investigation of US biological warfare in Korean War 210–19

  socialist views and political activism of 15, 18, 31, 33–5, 36, 51–2, 98, 231, 233–6, 240–41

  tenure with UNESCO 168–73, 229

  traditionalism of 240–41

  transliteration method due to typewriter belonging to 185

  trip to France with Dorothy Needham (1954) 225–8

  unflagging support for Communist People’s Republic of China from 233–6

  visit to Chongqing (1982) 267

  Needham, Joseph, his British diplomatic mission to China (1942–46) 3, 6, 7, 53–63, 64–137

  arrival in Chongqing (1943) 1–6, 10–11, 74–81

  British government’s decision in support of 56–7

  collaboration with Hsing-tsun ‘H. T.’ 86–9 see also Huang Hsing-tsung ‘H. T.’

  diplomatic mission tasks of 57–8, 80–83, 88–100, 102–3

  expedition to China’s northwest 103–48

  expedition to China’s southeast 149–57

  expedition to China’s southwest 161–3

  preparations for fir
st trip to China 57–63

  purposes of expeditions 101–37

  Sino-British Scientific Cooperation Office created for 57, 77, 83 see also Sino-British Scientific Cooperation Office (SBSCO)

  visit to Chengdu, Sichuan province 85–6

  visit to Kunming, Yunnan province 64–74

  Needham Question regarding Chinese science and technology 40, 60, 163, 197, 230–31, 269–73

  Needham Research Institute, opening of (1987) 253

  Neijing, China 110

  New Left Review Club 235

  New Life Movement 133

  New Scientist 232

  New York Times 217, 232

  Nixon, Richard, decision to ban use of biological weapons 209n.43

  Noel, Conrad Le Despenser Roden 31, 242

  Northern Zhou dynasty 141

  North Korea, accusations of US use of biological warfare made by 206–19

  Northwestern University, Illinois, Joseph Needham lectures at (1978) 247–8

  nudism, Joseph Needham’s interest in 23–4

  Observer 232

  Ode to the Chemical Laboratories of Cambridge (Joseph Needham) 21

  Ogden, Alwyn 65, 160

  Olympic Games (1936) 33, 35

  oracle bones, Shang dynasty 95

  Oratory of the Good Shepherd 24

  Order of the Brilliant Star with

  Cravat awarded to Joseph Needham 204–5, 248, 257

  O’Toole, Peter 259n.54

  Oundle boarding school 17, 21

  Oxford English Dictionary 238

  Pascal, Blaise 72

  Patey, Antoinette 22

  Patriotic Hygiene Campaign, China 208

  Pauling, Linus, Joseph Needham’s support for 236

  Payne, Robert 79–80, 107–8

  Peiping Academy 102

  Peking (Beijing) 132, 233

  People’s Liberation Army (PLA) 275

  People’s Republic of China 99, 205 see also China

  accusations of US biological warfare in Korean War by officials of 207–15

  Cultural Revolution in 240, 243, 244

  Great Leap Forward economic campaign 243

  Joseph Needham begins to question Mao’s policies in 243–7

  Joseph Needham’s observations of changes in China after formation of 212–14, 243

  Taiwan as part of 234n.48

  US response to founding of 233–4

  Philby, Kim 34

  Philosophical Dictionary, The (Voltaire) 263

  Picken, Laurence

  complaint letter about Joseph Needham and Lu Gwei-djen written by 166–8

  positive review of Science and Civilisation in China by 232

  Pirie, Bill 217

  plants, Chinese pharmaceutical 161–2

  plough and mould-board, Chinese 190

  poetry, Chinese 191

  pollution in China 265, 267

  Polo, Marco 137, 193

  Popper, Karl 247

  population in China 265

  Postan, Michael 259

  Potteries Trade Association 78

  Powel, John 222, 223

  Powell, Sylvia 222

  Power, Eileen 259

  ‘Prague Spring’ in Czechoslovakia 240

  Pratt, King’s Messenger 3, 64, 74

  Pre-Natal History of the Steam Engine, The 199n.40

  Priestley, J. B. 33

  Progressive League 235

  puddling technique, Chinese iron 191–2

  pump, Chinese square-pallet chain 192

  punnet 229n.46

  Punnett, Reginald 229

  Putterill, Jack 242

  Pu Yi, Chinese Emperor 259

  Qianlong, emperor of China 189, 269

  Qin dynasty 110, 112

  Qing dynasty 95, 183, 272–3

  rain gauge, Chinese 188

  Republic of China 204

  Richthofen, Ferdinand 130

  Riddle of the Sands, The (Childers) 20

  Robinson, David 253

  Robinson, Kenneth 225

  Robinson College, Cambridge

  University 253, 259

  Roosevelt, Franklin 35, 50

  Rosenberg, Julius and Ethel, Joseph Needham’s campaign on behalf of 236

  Roxby, Percy 167

  Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve 18–19

  Royal Society

  criticism of Joseph Needham by members of, because of biological warfare report 216–17

  Joseph Needham elected fellow of (1941) 30, 247

  rudder, Chinese sternpost 193

  Russian Revolution of 1917–18

  Sanctae Trinitasis Confraternitas 20

  Sanderson, F. W. 17

  Sansom, George 57

  SCC see Science and Civilisation in China (SCC) Schlegel, Friedrich 16

  Schumacher, E. F. 118

  Schuman, Julian 222

  Schwartz, Berthold 95

  Science and Civilisation in China (SCC) 174–205, 254, 258

  on aerodynamics and flight 1

  on biological agents in bombs 206

  F. Bray’s contribution to 250, 254

  on bridges 12, 126

  on Chinese ‘traits’ 138

  construction of 196–204

  final words of 225

  honours for 204–5

  inventions documented in 189–95

  Joseph Needham begins research and writing of 174–95

  Joseph Needham’s book and manuscript collection in support of 181–3, 201–2, 252–4, 258

  Joseph Needham’s observations as first incidence of research for 68–9, 80

  Joseph Needham’s reputation resting on 231

  on magnetic compass 101

  monographs emerging from 199n.40

  on oranges, botany and horticulture 64, 68–9

  origins of idea for 40, 60

  proposal for, to Cambridge University Press 176–7, 177, 178 179

  publication of first volume of (1954) 225–8

  publication of fourth volume of (1975) 249

  publication of second volume of (1956) 237

  publication of third volume of (1959) 238

  reviews of 232, 237, 249

  on scientific fundamentals (five elements) in China 174

  title page of first volume 227

  Vol. I, Introduction 196, 198, 199 227

  Vol. II 196, 198–9, 237

  Vol. III 196, 199, 237, 238, 273

  Vol. IV 196–7

  Vol. I V, Part 3, Civil Engineering and Nautics 200–201, 203, 249

  Vol. V 197, 199–200

  Vol. VI 197

  Vol. VI, Part 1, Botany 69n.13

  Vol. VII 197–8

  Wang Ling contribution to 180— 81, 185, 187–8, 189, 190, 196, 198, 200, 202, 254

  Science Outpost (J. Needham) 218n.45

  Scott-Moncrieff, Rose 22

  Seymour, Horace 75–6, 168 165n.33

  Shaffer, Elinor 261–2

  Shandan oasis, Gansu Province, China 132, 275

  Shaw, George Bernard 18

  Sheng Rongzhi (Joseph Needham’s Chinese name) 127n.26

  Shen Gua (Chinese geographer) 190

  Shen Shizhang 39

  Shi, professor, plant scientist 89, 92 92–3

  Shih, H. Y. , Joseph Needham’s infatuation with 248

  Shi Xin Dao Ren (one of Joseph Needham’s Chinese names) 127n.26

  Shuangshipu, China 115, 119, 121

  Shu Jing 64

  Siddeley, John 33

  Siku Quansbu (The Complete Books of the Four Imperial Repositories) 183n.36

  Silk Road 105, 108, 113, 131, 134 136, 274

  Sino-British Scientific Cooperation Office (SBSCO) 57, 77, 83, 86, 106, 125

  Smith, Sydney 166–7

  Snow, Edgar 116, 118

  Society of Anglo-Chinese Understanding (SACU) 148, 243

  Song dynasty 93, 95, 124, 190

  Soviet Union, role in accusations against US of biological warfare in Korean War 211, 219–22

  space programm
e, Chinese 275

  Spalding, H. N. 54

  Spanish civil war (1936) 34–5

  Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 19–20

  spinning wheel, Chinese 193

  Stalin, Joseph 220

  star charts, Tang dynasty 143, 273–4

  Stein, Marc Aurel 77, 135, 13945

  death of 139

  discovery of artifacts at Magao Caves by 141–3

  photo in Taklamakan Desert 140

  removal of artifacts from China by 144–5

  Steiner, George, on Joseph Needham 249

  Stephens, Leslie 238

  Stephenson, Marjory 22

  stirrup, Chinese 195

  Stratton, Frederick ‘Chubby’ 229–30

  Sung dynasty 202 see also Song dynasty

  Sun Yat-sen 264

  surveyors’ marks, Chinese 195–6

  Swaffer, Hannen 34

  Swann, Michael 237

  Taiwan 205

  status as part of People’s Republic of China 234n.48

  Taklamakan Desert 130, 134, 140

  Tang dynasty 143

  Tawney, R. H. 34

  Tawney Society 235

  Teichman, Eric 76–7, 108–9, 110, 124, 129

  terracotta soldiers, Shaanxi Province 104n.19

  Thatcher, Margaret 237

  Tianjin, China 54

  Times Literary Supplement, The 237

  toilet paper, Chinese perfumed 194

  Tots and Quots club, Cambridge, England 34

  Toynbee, Arnold 232

  Tribe, Keith 156, 157

  Truman, Harry, US president 172

  Tsien, T. H. 250

  type, early books, printed with movable 183

  umbrella, Chinese 193

  Unabomber 247–8

  UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization), Joseph Needham’s work for 168–73, 219

  Unit 731 Water Purification Camp, experiments conducted by Japanese at 209, 222

  United Nations 168

  membership of Chinese government 233–4

  United States

  accusations of biological warfare conducted by, during Korean War 206–21

  Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) 172, 219

  initial neutrality and later entrance into World War II 50, 56

  Joseph Needham banned from entering 219

  opposition to Joseph Needham’s involvement in UNESCO 172–3

  research into biological warfare in 209–10, 210

  response of, to founding of People’s Republic of China 233–4

  Vietnam War and 240

  University of Wuhan 89

  University Socialist Society 34

  US War Department 59

  Vandenberg, Hoyt 172

  Van Gulik, Robert 77n.16

  Vietnam War 240

  vitamin C, plant sources of 161

  voles, accusations of biological warfare using sick 207–9

  Voltaire 263

  Waley, Arthur 61

  Wang Ling 96, 185, 230

  contribution of, to Science and Civilisation in China 180–81, 187–8, 189, 190, 196, 198, 200 202